Chapter 18 Wearing the same outfit at the cocktail party
The air suddenly froze.
Before Shang Wu could explain, the person was already right in front of her.
A cold glint flashed in Zhou Yanci's eyes as he reached out and grabbed the back of her neck.
She could feel the thin calluses on the other person's palm, and the force that almost hurt her when they squeezed.
"Zhou Yanci, let me go..."
Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Yanci pressed her thumb firmly against her earlobe.
“Look at me.”
His hoarse voice carried an inexplicable sense of pressure.
Shang Wu looked up at him.
Zhou Yanci seemed like a different person, only now revealing the fierceness in his personality, no longer the affectionate person he usually pretended to be.
He asked coldly, "Are you going to betray me too? Hmm? Like her, you've found a better option and are secretly having affairs with other men?"
"say!"
Zhou Yanci let out a low growl, his eyes reddening, like a beast awakening and baring its fangs.
Shang Wu could sense that Zhou Yanci seemed to have some kind of psychological shadow because Shen Mian left without saying goodbye.
At this moment, the shadow was triggered by a phone call.
Shang Wu reached out and gently stroked Zhou Yanci's arm, comforting her, "I won't betray you, Yanci. You've been so good to me, how could I be with someone else?"
Zhou Yanci's eyes flickered, and she pursed her lips, remaining silent.
Shang Wu gently coaxed, "The person who called just now was Xiao Lu from the jewelry department. If you don't believe me, call back now and ask."
Her eyes held a mixture of grievance and sincerity, and her slightly rapid breaths sprayed onto Zhou Yanci's arm.
Zhou Yanci suddenly seemed to wake from a dream and released her, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I... I lost my composure just now."
He instantly put on a gentle mask again, and gently embraced Shang Wu: "I've been hurt before, and I have a shadow in my heart. I didn't mean to be mean to you. Are you scared?"
Shang Wu did not hug him back; her body involuntarily began to resist, and she managed to clench her fists at her sides to keep from pushing him away.
She exhaled and said softly, "Yanci, please don't doubt me anymore, okay? I know you were deeply hurt by Miss Chen, but I'm different from her. You're not only my fiancé, but also the benefactor of my whole family."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Zhou Yanci stiffened, took a step back, and looked at her with a complicated expression.
"Alright, I see you're not quite calm right now. Take a break and I'll get you a glass of honey water."
Shang Wu pulled him to sit on the sofa.
Zhou Yanci's eyes held a broken light as he looked up at her and said, word by word, "Awu, I'm sorry."
"It's alright." Shang Wu smiled and turned to go to the kitchen.
She poured Zhou Yanci a glass of water, added a spoonful of honey, and then picked up her phone: "I'm going to call Xiao Lu back."
Shang Wu appeared nonchalant, open, and natural.
Zhou Yanci gripped her water glass tightly and nodded, increasingly embarrassed.
Shang Wu went upstairs and made the call. Afraid that Lu Rang would hang up, she spoke first: "It's me."
Lu Rang asked casually, "Why is Zhou Yanci at your place? Do you live together?"
"No, he sometimes stays overnight."
Shang Wu paused for a moment, then blurted out, "We won't sleep in the same bed."
Both of them were taken aback after saying that.
Shang Wu rubbed her forehead where Lu Rang couldn't see her, feeling somewhat speechless at herself.
Why did she specifically emphasize this...?
Lu Rang said calmly, "Your brother wrote you a letter, but someone deliberately intercepted it. However, I sent someone to tell your brother the day before yesterday to write two copies of the letter. The other copy is currently in my possession."
Upon hearing this, Shang Wu's gaze instantly turned cold.
It's obvious without even thinking that Zhou Yanci ordered it.
It seems that Zhou Yanci knew she went to see her brother and what she asked him to do because there were his own people passing on the information.
Shang Wu suddenly felt a sense of unease: "What are you planning to do next?"
"Go and contact the person your brother hit. Just wait for my news."
Lu Rang paused for a second: "Unless there are special circumstances, I will call you on the weekend evening to discuss the progress of the investigation. Remember to prepare in advance."
Shang Wu pressed her ear to the phone, listening to his slightly deep voice, and felt inexplicably at ease.
She couldn't help but ask, "Weekends are your rest time, are you going to use them to talk to me about the case?"
Lu Rang said, "You reminded me that you're taking up my personal time. This will cost extra money. Just transfer 300 yuan to my account per hour."
"It wasn't you..." Shang Wu hadn't finished complaining when the phone was hung up.
She gripped her phone tightly, and her mood inexplicably improved; the faint pain in the back of her neck completely disappeared.
Shang Wu composed herself, turned around, and went out.
Zhou Yanci had finished drinking the honey water and was going to take a shower.
She retreated into her room, took the opportunity to close the door, locked it, and went to sleep.
When Zhou Yanci came out after taking a shower, no one answered the door when she knocked, and she couldn't turn the doorknob.
He had intended to say a few words of comfort to Shang Wu and then make some physical contact, but he didn't expect that she would fall asleep so quickly.
Zhou Yanci felt disappointed, changed her clothes, and left.
After the person left, Shang Wu leaned against the headboard and continued working.
Suddenly, an invitation popped up in her email.
Shang Wu opened the message and found that it was from a business partner, inviting her to a business exchange meeting.
This is necessary work-related socializing.
After filling in her personal information, Shang Wu registered to participate.
The next day, when she arrived at the company, she found that Zhou Yanci had also received an invitation and was going to attend with her.
Holding onto the thought of making amends for what she had done to Shang Wu the night before, Zhou Yanci immediately had someone buy Shang Wu an expensive dress and jewelry.
"It's your favorite dress brand. You'll be my date tonight."
Zhou Yanci gently presented the gift box.
Shang Wu met his intense gaze with a strong sense of resistance and felt even more unlucky.
She originally intended to relax at this business cocktail party.
She's been steadily working on her revenge recently, but she also has to put on a show and be on guard all the time, so her nerves are already on edge.
But I never expected that I wouldn't even have this little bit of rest time.
Shang Wu didn't say anything on the surface, but took the dress and jewelry to the lounge to change.
When she came out after changing, Zhou Yanci's eyes lit up completely.
He stared intently at Shang Wu and exclaimed, "My Ah Wu has such a great figure, a natural clothes hanger. She'll definitely stun everyone in this outfit."
Shang Wu chuckled softly and chatted with him casually, unaware that someone was taking pictures outside the door.
After taking a picture and enlarging it, Ji Yu pursed her lips and sent the specific design directly to Chen Mian.
...
night.
Shang Wu and Zhou Yanci attended the gala together, arm in arm.
Upon arrival, they each socialized with people they knew.
Upon seeing Shang Wu in her gorgeous gown, everyone's attention immediately turned to her.
Even people who didn't know Shang Wu came over to chat with her.
Shang Wu greeted them one by one, and in the blink of an eye, half a cup of wine was gone. Her cheeks were flushed from drinking, and she exuded a charm in every gesture.
After Zhou Yanci finished chatting with her friend, she turned around and saw her bright and elegant demeanor, exuding the air of a refined young lady from a prominent family. She couldn't take her eyes off her for a moment.
He smiled slightly and walked towards Shang Wu, feeling a sense of pride and satisfaction.
His fiancée was so beautiful, which made him proud.
Tonight, Zhou Yanci received countless praises and envy, but she was still not satisfied and wanted to go over and be intimate with Shang Wu in public to show off their affection.
Unexpectedly, someone exclaimed in surprise.
"We're wearing the same outfit!"
Many people looked toward the door following the sound, and saw a figure appear outside.
Upon seeing the clothes on that person, everyone's expression changed. They turned to look at Shang Wu's formal attire and then at the person.
Zhou Yanci's face instantly darkened as she stared intently at Chenmian, who was slowly walking in through the doorway, lifting her skirt.
The clothes Chen Mian was wearing were the same dress as Shang Wu's, and even her hairstyle was exactly the same.
The two were dressed identically from head to toe.
If the coincidences are this numerous, then they are no longer coincidences.
People around them began to whisper among themselves.
"What's going on? Is she deliberately imitating Miss Shang?"
"Who is she? I've never seen her before."
"It seems to be Chen Mian, I heard she's President Zhou's ex. She came here wearing such similar clothes, what's her intention? Could it be on purpose?"
Instead of speaking up for Chenmian, everyone suspected that she had ulterior motives.
Chenmian stood awkwardly at the entrance, enduring the stares and whispers of the crowd. Like a startled rabbit, she looked back and forth, her eyes red and swollen, wishing she could disappear into the shadows.
Her frail and pitiful appearance is very likely to arouse a man's protective instincts.
Shang Wu glanced at Zhou Yanci casually and, sure enough, found him hesitant, his brows furrowed, as if he couldn't bear to watch.
Before Zhou Yanci could take a step, Shang Wu immediately pulled off the only shawl she was wearing that was different from Shen Mian's.
She brought it over specifically to keep warm because she was worried about the temperature difference at night.
Shang Wu walked straight through the crowd and draped the shawl over Shen Mian's shoulders, the warmth instantly enveloping Shen Mian's trembling body.
Chenmian was stunned.
Shang Wu smiled gently at her, meeting her surprised gaze: "I didn't expect that my taste is so similar to Miss Shen's. It's my honor to happen to be wearing the same clothes. Come in, it's cold in the wind, don't stand there."
Chenmian clenched her teeth, her nails digging into her palms.
She originally wanted to force Zhou Yanci to feel sorry for her.
Seeing Shang Wu's relaxed and composed demeanor, Chen Mian felt a hundred times unwilling.
She thought Shang Wu would be anxious and upset, but to her surprise, Shang Wu was completely unconcerned and greeted her with grace and poise.
Chenmian's smile was somewhat forced. After following Shang Wu in, she first looked at Zhou Yanci's expression.
Despite being under everyone's watchful eyes, Zhou Yanci did not show any familiarity with her, keeping his hands in his pockets and staring at her expressionlessly.
"How did Ms. Shen, an overseas fashion blogger, receive an invitation to this business cocktail party?"
"Ah Ci, do you think I'm not qualified to participate, or do you just not want to see me?" Chen Mian was instantly hurt.
Zhou Yanci frowned: "That's not what I meant. Where did you get your clothes and jewelry?"
"I put together this myself. It just so happens that Miss Shang and I have a knack for matching outfits. Miss Shang didn't say anything. Do you suspect that I deliberately came here to wear the same thing? I can't predict the future, how would I know what she would wear..."
As Chenmian spoke, she became more and more aggrieved, her voice trembling like a kite with a broken string.
The two looked rather unhappy, which made it seem to anyone that something unpleasant had happened. Their public display of anger was very likely due to lingering feelings between them.
More gossipy eyes gathered around.
Shang Wu smiled slightly: "Yan Ci, Miss Shen probably didn't mean it. You've misunderstood."
Zhou Yanci took a deep breath, her brows furrowed.
He lowered his voice and commanded, "Sleep, you go back first."
Chenmian stared at him incredulously: "You're kicking me out?"
Zhou Yanci raised an eyebrow, which was taken as tacit agreement.
Chenmian was heartbroken. She gave a bitter laugh and turned to leave, but accidentally stepped on her skirt.
She gasped in surprise and fell backward uncontrollably.
Bang!
Chenmian fell to the ground. She was completely stunned.
She stared at Zhou Yanci in disbelief.
She thought Zhou Yanci would catch her steadily after the fall, but she didn't expect Zhou Yanci to be so heartless as to stand by and watch, as if she were an insignificant person who didn't care if she got hurt.
Deeply affected by the shock, he became the center of attention, looking disheveled. Struggling to sit up, he suddenly cried out in pain again.
She sat back down and slowly lifted her skirt.
There's a bloody scratch on my calf from what I think I fell on.
Sleeping man's face turned ashen: "Blood, blood!"
Zhou Yanci's expression changed instantly, and his calm and composed demeanor crumbled rapidly.
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